Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Outside my window...Amore's grass seed is sprouting and slowly filling in bare patches beneath the live oak. A recent substantial pruning of the tree allows more light to reach the lawn, although at the cost of some cover for the birds.

I am thinking...how nice it has been to have a lull in medical appointments these last two weeks, even taking into account an unexpected one for Ebony Friday.

I am thankful...for a quiet day to stay home today, for a phone visit with my Nonni earlier, for a quiet dishwasher that works, for Ebony's quick recovery from an upper respiratory infection, and for sweet ordinary moments with my Amore.

In the kitchen...the dishwasher will soon be ready for emptying, new toaster oven pans sit air-drying, and salmon is thawing in the refrigerator for supper.

I am wearing...the scent of chlorine, which soap and water apparently can't completely eliminate; a denim skirt, a black sleeveless button-down shirt, and the hiking boots my ankle requires.

I am creating...a new (bigger and lighter weight) blanket for Rocky, my youngest nephew. It may or may not be finished by his birthday next month, but I'll just have to crochet extra to keep up with his growth if it's not completed on time.

I am going...to the pool three times a week so far this month to see if that allows me to "move without pain" again and get a bit of exercise, since my ankle still won't let me walk far at all.

I am wondering...at the talent and musicianship of the Cliburn finalists. They were all so gifted and so young! Amore no doubt grew tired of my exclamations of "How did he do that?!" and "Wow, did you hear how she just developed that phrase?" They were a wonderful example for me of what the late Edith Schaeffer called the "leftover beauty" of this fallen Creation. We are still created in the image of a creative God, and these young men and women moved me to worship that gracious Creator.

I am reading...We Shall Have Spring Again by Andree Seu Peterson, Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas, Job, and John's Gospel.I was reading the new Khaled Hosseini novel, but a third of the way through the story and tone were just too dark for me to continue. On the other hand, the new memoir Joni and Ken, which I finished reading last week, is just right for me in this season... hard in its way, too, but ultimately uplifting and encouraging.

I am looking forward to..."the other side" of my dental check-up tomorrow. :) A dear friend who lives south of the border will be in the US later this month, and it will be nice to hear her voice on the phone again.

I am learning (or trying to)...

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed (Ephesians 4:17-19, NIV).

Cheery, right? Can you see why I'm a little stuck here? There's no moving on to happier parts of Ephesians until I get these verses down, so I'm slowly chipping away. When Paul puts it like that, who would want to live so??? And yet I'm sure I do. Search me, O God....

Around the house...Clutter is giving way to better order as I prepare for our cleaning helper to come tomorrow. (We just pay her to clean, not tidy up and organize, and it's easier to clean when things are put in their places.) Ebony has not strayed from his usual place in my blue wing chair, within reach of my left hand when I'm at the computer. He is not shy about reaching over and pawing my hand if I go too long without scratching him behind the ears.

...the fundamental things apply in cataclysms as well as in calm times. To wit: Do the right thing; one foot in front of the other; one piece of the problem at a time; take lunch, exercise, sleep. I remember the counselor Jay Adams saying that the trouble is not usually that we don't know what to do but that we don't do it long enough. We give up just before the breakthrough would have come. Like Screwtape said, "It is so hard for these creatures to persevere." But persevering is what it's all about. Persevering is just faith with [sneakers*] on (Andree Seu Peterson, "Three-Two-One," We Shall Have Spring Again, 45).

*The source uses a brand name here, and I don't have permission to do so. Not knowing all the ins and outs of trademark law, I'm making a substitution instead, at the cost of some of the sentence's elegance. Thanks for grace.One of my favorite things...watching so much of the Cliburn International Piano Competition the last two weeks, witnessing classical music fans yell and clap for their favorites like they were in a sports arena instead of a concert hall, and seeing my two personal favorites take gold and silver. Vadym Kholodenko's Mozart concerto was exquisite, but unfortunately that performance is not available to stream any longer.(Spending time with loved ones is also very, very high on the "favorite things" list, but thankfully that pleasure comes around more often than once every 4 years.)

A few plans for the rest of the week:Our house helper comes tomorrow, followed by a trip to the dentist for regular cleaning. Lord willing, I will go by the bigger recreation center after that to get an ID card that decreases the cost of trips to the pool.

A peek into my day...

This photo comes from last week, but I just saw another monarch in the butterfly weed a few minutes ago.

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